Menlo Castle or Menlough Castle (), also called Blake's Castle, is a 16th-century castle situated on the bank of the

River Corrib The River Corrib ( Irish: ''Abhainn na Gaillimhe'') in the west of Ireland flows from Lough Corrib through Galway to Galway Bay. The river is among the shortest in Europe, with only a length of six kilometres from the lough to the Atlantic. I ...

near Menlo village in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland.

History

Menlo Castle is built on the site of, and incorporates portions of, a mid-16th century

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

. Several sources date the original tower house to 1569, and it was recorded as being occupied by a Thomas Colman in 1574. Later occupied by the Blake family, the castle was extended to include a two-bay four-storey block during the 18th century. There is a square turreted structure on the building's eastern end. The castle was home to the Blake family for several centuries until it was destroyed by fire in the early 20th century. On 26 July 1910, while Sir Valentine Blake (14th baronet) and Lady Blake were away in Dublin, a fire broke out in the castle. The body of their disabled daughter, Eleanor, was never found and she is presumed to have died in the fire. The castle was largely left to ruin following the fire, and the Blake estate was divided by the

Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to "inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower ...

in 1923. The castle site and its surrounds were acquired by

Galway City Council Galway City Council () is the local authority of the city of Galway, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and ...

under a

compulsory purchase order A compulsory purchase order (CPO; , ) is a legal function in the United Kingdom and Ireland that allows certain bodies to obtain land or property without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for ...

(from five separate land owners) in July 2000.

References

External links

Menlo Castle
on Galway Tourism website {{coord, 53.2965, -9.0735, region:IE_type:landmark, display=title Castles in County Galway Buildings and structures in Galway (city)